Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach has confirmed that there will be no change in the austerity policies of his Government. He noted the troika will be here again next week. If the Taoiseach seeks to review the programme I imagine he will be pushing an open door now that the IMF agrees with the Members on this side of the House that austerity is not working. The Taoiseach constantly points to foreign direct investment and the investment multinationals are making in our economy. That is holding up, but it is not solving the emigration crisis or the crisis of poor people and people depending on social welfare, including low income couples and other people who are suffering. The Government's policies continue to make this worse. They will continue to ensure more than 80,000 people emigrate from the country every year. These are the people the Government should be targeting in the budget. The Government should negotiate with the troika and get the IMF to agree that our budget burden should be eased and I call on the Taoiseach to do this.

I look forward to the economic debate and I look forward to putting forward my ideas but I have no doubt they will fall on deaf ears on that side of the House.

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